PFT's Week Zero Power Rankings

With two full days to go until the 2010 season gets rolling, we decided that we should rank the 32 franchises based on where they are right now.

This isn’t a prediction as to where the teams will finish (we put those in our PFT Season Preview magazine, which went to print way back in early June, so there’s our bum-ankle-style excuse for failure), but a snapshot as to where they are right now.

We’ll update the list every Tuesday, and we’ll allow you to complain as much as you want about whether and to what extent our rankings indicate that we “hate” your favorite team and/or that we “love” one of the many teams you hate.

1. New Orleans Saints: With the Jets, Vikings, Cowboys, and Packers getting all of the preseason attention, the defending champions have been largely ignored. And they surely like it that way.

2. Indianapolis Colts: Until someone in the AFC can knock the Colts off, they’ll continue to be at the top of the conference.

3. Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens may be the team to knock off the Colts.

4. Minnesota Vikings: If Brett Favre can stay healthy, this team will be right back in the thick of things come January. Just in time for the season to implode in spectacular fashion.

5. Dallas Cowboys: A glaring weakness at left tackle ultimately could keep the Cowboys from playing in the Super Bowl they’ll host.

6. New York Jets: The Jets get credit for having a very good team, but all that talk doesn’t translate to wins. If anything, it makes getting them even harder.

7. Green Bay Packers: The trendy pick to win the Super Bowl has to prove that it can overcome a still-suspect offensive line and a defense that will be without Al Harris for at least six weeks.

8. New England Patriots: The Pats could quickly plummet if they can’t overcome a rash of injuries.

9. San Diego Chargers: They’ve got an easy path back to the postseason. Whether they can do a better job once they get there remains to be seen.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers: If safety Troy Polamalu can stay healthy, the Steelers can climb to the very top of this ladder.

11. Cincinnati Bengals: The recent hype from the arrival of T.O. has obscured the reality that this team faded badly down the stretch last year.

12. Miami Dolphins: The arrival of Brandon Marshall could make a huge difference, if Chad Henne can take advantage of his presence.

13. Houston Texans: The Texans have the horses to get to the postseason, but they need to overcome the suspension of Brian Cushing, and the lack of a high-end threat in the running game.

14. New York Giants: The heat is on coach Tom Coughlin to reclaim some of the attention from the team with which the Giants share a stadium.

15. Atlanta Falcons: Don’t be shocked if the Falcons finish a lot higher than this.

16. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles land in the middle of the pack until their new quarterback proves that he can get it done.

17. Tennessee Titans: It’s time for Vince Young to step up, once and for all.

18. Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags could be competitive if they were in any other division than the AFC South.

19. Washington Redskins: Move the ‘Skins to the NFC West, and they’d be the favorites to win the division.

20. San Francisco 49ers: With a soft schedule, the Niners could be the worst team in league history to earn a bye week in the postseason.

21. Denver Broncos: Tebow-fueled optimism notwithstanding, this team went 2-8 over the last 10 games of the 2009 season.

22. Carolina Panthers: A decent defense and a bad offense means that John Fox will be working for someone else in 2011.

23. Chicago Bears: A full 25 years after the Bears lost only one game, there’s an outside chance that they’ll win only one game.

24. Arizona Cardinals: It’s only a matter of time before Larry Fitzgerald tries to finagle a trade.

25. Kansas City Chiefs: Don’t look now, but the Chiefs could be climbing into contention.

26. Seattle Seahawks: If the Seahawks get rid of any more players who were on the roster in 2009, they’ll potentially qualify as an expansion franchise.

27. Cleveland Browns: If Jake Delhomme can continue to play in the regular season like he did in the preseason, the Browns could threaten the Bengals for third place in the division.

28. Oakland Raiders: The decision to dump JaMarcus Russell should prompt the NFL to officially move the team’s record to 1-0.

29. Detroit Lions: The Lions’ first-round pick has sparked more buzz in one preseason than anyone on the franchise has generated in 11 regular seasons.

30. St. Louis Rams: Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford could eat up opposing defenses, as long as his offensive line can keep him from eating through a straw.

31. Buffalo Bills: C.J. Spiller will soon learn how Barry Sanders felt for most of his time in Detroit.

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: It may be a good thing that this team’s home games won’t be televised in Tampa.

124 responses to “PFT's Week Zero Power Rankings”

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: It may be a good thing that this team’s home games won’t be televised in Tampa.
you just wait florio the bucs are going to be alot better than people think and will no way be #32/32 teams and you can take that to the bank.
but then again looking over other teams comments I think you just like stiring the pot to get thread comments. be them good or bad im sure it makes no difference to you…

Not bad, although Doug Free is not a “glaring weakness” at left tackle. In fact I would say he is an upgrade over a slowing Flozell Adams. That being said, the weakness on the Cowboys is their offensive line and unfortunately that is the most important group of guys on any football team.

When will all these Ravens fluffers finally acknowledge that they dont have any secondary at all? They are also a clean hit away from Ray Rice going down for a while. He won’t be able to do what he did last year for a full season.

No way the Bills should be ranked 31st. They are better than the 6 to 8 teams listed above them. Dream on Mike……oh, nice you put your Brett Favre Vikings at number 4. The 4 teams listed below them are better. Wake up!!

Florio….When are you going to quit hating on the Bucs? what the hell did they ever do to you? The sarcastic remarks and BS that you spew about the Bucs just gets old, and I’m sure there’s plenty of diehard Bucs fans that feel the same way I do. Remember, the Bucs have a Superbowl win under their belts, and there are some NFL teams that can’t claim that. Like my mother told me (when i was 5) which is about the age you need to be treated as….”If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”

10. Pittsburgh Steelers: If safety Troy Polamalu can stay healthy, the Steelers can climb to the very top of this ladder.
It wont matter how Troy plays if his team cant score points in there first 4 weeks. I highly doubt they go undefeated when Ben Comes back. I say 8-4. Winning only 2 out of the first 4 probably wont be enough in the AFC. 10-6 doesnt get it done.

Packers have to overcome a suspect oline and prove they can play w/o Harris…
Uhhh…you mean like they did the entire 2nd half of last season…..
Jets are all hype. When they beat a top caliber team w/o said team tanking the game, call me.

1) Silly comment on the Cardinals and Larry Fitzgerald. Who do you think: a) helped push Leinart out of town?; and b) is lobbying for Max Hall’s future?.
2) Betting against the Cardinals has been a losing proposition since the Whiz arrived. 24 is way too low for Pittsburgh southwest.

WOW – I am Shocked a fully blooded queens fan picking the queens ahead of the Packers.
I would have thought the queens should have been number 1. They lost the game because of the Referee, the saints not playing fairly, not having home field, etc.. The queens really won the superbowl so really are should be first.

Cue the bengals fans pissed that you even mentioned the browns in contention with them, lol. And all the Baltimore haters who say the rating is undeserved, when you look at the offseason moves and the preseason performance I say their is nothing that illustrates that that they don’t deserve that exact place.

Always have been a Niners hater Florio, just wait they are going to be the surprise team of the year. The soft schedule helps but a solid defense and a punishing running game will make this team a contender every week no matter who they play. The Saints at week two will be the litmus test for the Niners … when we upset them people will start talking differently.
Niners Forever

Huh? Left tackle is the glaring weakness for the Cowboys? Where do you get this stuff?
I can think of about 5 weaknesses that are much more dire, and three of them are offensive linemen that aren’t Doug Free.

Re: “to complain as much as you want about whether and to what extent our rankings indicate that we “hate” your favorite team and/or that we “love” one of the many teams you hate.”
Nobody cares who you love or hate dude…..we’ll be complaining about how a total moron keeps stealing checks and has any credibility whatsoever in putting power rankings together. I might as well ask my 94 year old aunt down at the convalescent home with dementia…….or maybe the 5 year old girl scout next door who sells us cookies…..
At least you can cut and paste the standings from last year as well as the next idiot….

Florio, your list seems to be fairly solid on most accounts. With Revis Island back on the map, I would have to say replace the Ravens at the 3 with the Jets. If nothing but for the fact that Revis is the best defensive player in the game and Baltimore has young men almost literally off the streets in that secondary. On the other hand, Cincy has an excellent secondary and a very unheralded defense, along with the addition of what looks like a rejuvenated T.O., what looks to be a beast at TE in Gresham (something Palmer has never had) and a crisp Carson Palmer, I would swap them with New England, their youth on defense will take about half the season to get acclimated to the pro game. Oh yeah, I’ll be sure to remind my man Doug Free to read this post. Dude, our weakness is at RG and RT……..OUR season looks to depend on the health of Kyle Kosier and Marc Colombo!!! You never know Mike, our new #88 might just be the X Factor in the entire NFL……….GO COWBOYS!!!!!!!!!

I think Cowboys blurb should read:
A glaring weakness at left guard, center, right guard, and right tackle ultimately could keep the Cowboys from playing in the Super Bowl they’ll host.
Doug Free looks great so far and he’s the only guy on the line that doesn’t turn sideways to avoid the defenders when the ball is snapped.

The Bengals could be “threatened for 3rd place”?
They are defending AFC North Champs, and only got better over the offseason.
Pittsburgh will have zero pass offense for the first 4 games, and it won’t get too much better when Big Jen gets back because who does he have to throw to?
Baltimore added Boldin and everyones crowning them as the best team in the AFC. Everyone forgets that the Ravens D is getting older by the day….and no Ed Reed for at least the first 6 games.

“A full 25 years after the Bears lost only one game, there’s an outside chance that they’ll win only one game.”
I’m not a Bears fan and don’t like them at all this year, but you could have come up with a better tagline than that, Florio. You know damn well that isn’t even close to being a 1-15 team.

“It’s time for Vince Young to step up, once and for all”…
News flash: VY is 21-11 as a starter in the pros.
Here are the rankings of pro QBs by winning percentage:
1. Tom Brady
2. Ben Rothleisberger
3. Phillip Rivers
4. Vince Young
Time for VY to step up? The guy has just three years of active starting duty under his belt and is already pushing into the elite ranks. If VY continues to “step up”, watch out record books!

packersurle says:
September 7, 2010 8:44 AM
WOW – I am Shocked a fully blooded queens fan picking the queens ahead of the Packers.
I would have thought the queens should have been number 1. They lost the game because of the Referee, the saints not playing fairly, not having home field, etc.. The queens really won the superbowl so really are should be first
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It’s a preseason ranking you idiot……..I would rank the same at this time of season based on what happened last year. The Packers have a good young team but the Vikings did spank them good, TWICE last year, went to the NFC Championship game, basically have the same team back and just becuz the Packers changed personnel on OLine doesn’t prove anything yet. Also, the Packs DB’s were their achilles heel and they had zero pass rush….what have they did to improve that since last year???? Until the season unfolds, I understand the viking/packer ranking….and so should you if you knew anything about football!!

Chapnasty. says:
September 7, 2010 8:23 AM
Not bad, although Doug Free is not a “glaring weakness” at left tackle. In fact I would say he is an upgrade over a slowing Flozell Adams. That being said, the weakness on the Cowboys is their offensive line and unfortunately that is the most important group of guys on any football team.
_________________________________
Weaknesses that are worse:
O-Line depth – Columbo and Kozier being down are exposing this.
DBs – Only 3 corners on the team and a ton of young players. Will need lots of pressure up front.
Doug Free has played very well in the preseason versus the other teams’ number ones. Most of the hits on Romo came off of the LG or RT while both were out.

I thought you would be on top of the changes in the NFL during the off season!!
Instead you just start where last season left off.
You have the Jets, Cowboys, and vikings all rated too high. You have the Chargers, Ravens and Packers rated too low.

19. Washington Redskins: Move the ‘Skins to the NFC West, and they’d be the favorites to win the division.
20. San Francisco 49ers: With a soft schedule, the Niners could be the worst team in league history to earn a bye week in the postseason.
Really??????????
WTF Florio? Dont be a dick.

I’d say the ‘glaring weakness’ for the Cowboys O line isn’t at LT. Free will be alright. In any case we’ll know all we need to know about Free by the break after week three since he faces Orakpo, The glaring weakness is the missing two starters (Kosier & Colombo) and the resulting communication/cohesion from having 3 starters opening day on the O line who were not starters last season.

CJ SPILLER says:
September 7, 2010 8:26 AM
No way the Bills should be ranked 31st. They are better than the 6 to 8 teams listed above them. Dream on Mike……oh, nice you put your Brett Favre Vikings at number 4. The 4 teams listed below them are better. Wake up!!
Really? What have those 4 teams done so far to prove that they are better? Because they wern’t at the end of last season.

Florio, I have no issue with choosing the Ravens so high like all of the other pundits. However, I do take issue with what you said about the Bengals.
The arrival of TO along with Jordan Shipley and Jermain Gresham addresses why the Bengals “faded down the stretch.”
Also, all of the starters from the #6 overall D are now healthy unlike the end of last season.

You guys that are railing about the Ravens secondary are off. If Fabian Washington and Ladarius Webb play as good as they did last year, we should be solid (though not as dominant as in past years). We have an upgraded nickle in Josh Wilson (who was a decent #2 in Seattle) and pretty decent 4th and 5th guys.
Reed is out for 6 weeks, but the guy that has been replacing him(Zbikowski) has been playing outstanding. He won’t lose any games for us. Landry is solid at SS– you need to remember that the Ravens let Jim Leonhard go last year because he was Landry’s backup. Landry’s current backup(Nakamura) is probably better than most starters in the league too.
Our linebackers are still best in class and the defensive line is better than most. We have great WRs, great RBs (even if Ray Rice was hurt, we still have McGahee and McClain), a solid OL and an up-and-coming QB (and former pro-bowl backup).
Injuries will ultimately play a big part in each team’s fate, but the Ravens are definitely built to win it all this year.

It’s not that bad, but I don’t understand how someone could put the Jets above the Patriots. You can argue that the Patriots don’t have a defense…but it’s well documented that the Jets don’t have an offense. They have a turnover machine at QB, and when Santonio Holmes is your clear cut #1 receiver….wow. They also lost the bulk of their running game, are going to be starting a revolving door at left guard, and the anchor of their defense is coming off major knee surgery and is on the wrong side of 30.

mjk68 says:
September 7, 2010 9:24 AM
19. Washington Redskins: Move the ‘Skins to the NFC West, and they’d be the favorites to win the division.
20. San Francisco 49ers: With a soft schedule, the Niners could be the worst team in league history to earn a bye week in the postseason.
Really?????????? WTF Florio? Dont be a dick.

With all of the turmoil in Pittsburgh, the Ravens having all second – third stringers in their D backfield while the Bengals, who swept them both last season, have a much improved team, you still put them 3rd in the division.
You spend too much time watching the drama and rumors in the NFL instead of the game itself.

The Bengals faded down the stretch because they didn’t have any weapons other than Chad when Henry died midway through the season. They’ve addressed this problem by adding TO, Gresham and Shipley. This isn’t the same offense. Watch out New England.

@ shootah
I can respect that, I guess I was referring to the depth as well when I mentioned the line as the problem. I cannot begin to explain or support the move to cut down to 3 CB’s unless they plan on trading for someone big which I dont see happening. I see no logic in any team not keeping 4 CB’s at a minimum in a pass heavy division and league.

Your ranking of the Patriots is a fair appraisal. In my view, the Pats most glaring uncertainty/vulnerability continues to be at linebacker. Granted, our young defensive backfield would benefit from any effort at mustering a decent pass rush, which has been conspicuously absent. But more than any single factor, it will be the ability of the LINEBACKERS—and not just the defensive linemen—to help STOP THE RUN that will determine this team’s playoff prospects.

Seriously, the Jets. Did they even beat a winning team last year that had it’s starters in? Oh yeah, they did beat the chokers (chargers) after Nate botched a few kicks. A game they shouldn’t have even been playing in.

You got the Seahawks about right, with some luck or good fortune they could possibly move up 2-4 spots, as a fan, I realize this is a rebuilding job and yes I as they want to win every game but you got to crawl before you walk.

You know, Mike, I agree with your first dozeen or so, although not exactly in that order.
But your last dozen are terrible. The Bears are an awful football team, whose defense is a lot of names already nicked up, and whose offense is only different because Mike Martz is there, and he already proved in two cities that without good players his system don’t work. Detroit, ranked several spots lower, will most likely finish ahead of this walking hospital ward, and no, I don’t think Johnny Knox is the next Gale Sayers, reincarnated as a wideout.
Kansas City isn’t gonna be able to protect Cassel, who is known to be brittle, anyway, and who has no backup that would scare a UFL opponent, and Charles and Jones are gonna see eight in the box all year, once Cassel is gone.
Oakland shouldn’t get a free ride based on virtually no proven roster improvement, and ten years of double digit losses. Tom Cable can’t punch out the opposition, and that’s really the only feature on his resume, and while getting rid of JaMarcus helps, they forgot to sign someone to block for his replacement.
Seattle is just a bunch of guys, and once Matt “Ming Vase” Hasselbeck goes down…and the over/under on that is maybe week 5…you got Charlie Whitehurst, fifth year rookie QB, trying to run the show.
I’ll give you Cleveland and Arizona, at least until THEIR QBs return to prior form, although Beanie Wells and Cedric Benson are implosions waiting to happen, once the passing game disappears. Jake the Snake looked real good in preseason, though, and Arizona still has some guys who can actually PLAY defense. I’m in two fantasy leagues, though, and Fitzgerald went ninth in round three in one, and twelth in round two in the other. Evidently, there is not a lot of belief in Derek Anderson.
Then we have the Lions. Won two last year. Lost the whole ball of wax, two years ago. But…there’s only about 5 guys left on the roster from two years ago, and they’ve added 11-12 quality starters. They have an offense that can score and has multiple weapons. Their defensive line runs eight deep and looks, well…scary good. The back seven is still pretty awful, but even the offensive line has five guys who won’t get beat every play. They also added two quality coordinators in Cunningham and Linehan, and even better, sent Martz and Marinelli to the Bears, which assuredly was addition by subtraction, with the bonus that the Bears now have to learn two weird, ineffective new systems.
(We all know about Martz’ system, but Marinelli believes the most effective defenses are small and fast. This works great if you have Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Darrelle Revis and Troy Polamalu, but none of those guys, you may have noticed, play for the Bears.)
Detroit deserves a bump, and Chicago (to 31), Oakland, Seattle and KC should all slide down.
I may be a Lions fan, which translates to “masochist”, but I’m still entitled to my opinion. :laughing:

Pittsburgh Steelers: If safety Troy Polamalu can stay healthy, the Steelers can climb to the very top of this ladder.
11. Cincinnati Bengals: The recent hype from the arrival of T.O. has obscured the reality that this team faded badly down the stretch last year.
r u effing kidding me? I’m really tired of this shit. Pittsburgh did nothing to improve their team and are missing their Superbowl QB 1/4 of the season.
Yes the Bengals faded down the stretch – but for Christ’s sake Sh ttsburgh faded the WHOLE EFFING YEAR.

You keep talking about how the 49ers have such an easy schedule. Take a close look at it. 3 of the first 4 are on the road. being @ Seattle, KC, and Atlanta…..2 of the toughest places to play in the NFL and one pretty damn good team. Oh yeah the one home game, week 2 against the Saints on Monday Night Football with the defending SB champs having 10 days to prepare. It’s not too far of a stretch for this team to get off to a rough start. That said Go 9ers, and we are BETTER than 20, look at the talent you dope.

Hey Florio, have you payed ANY attention to the Vikings’ injury situation this preseason? There is no way they can be listed in front of Green Bay right now. With all of the Vikings’ problems right now the Lions have a shot of beating them in week 3.

I’m a Browns fan, and I’m not saying playoffs. but I am saying a good season. the Browns will surprise a few teams this year. the Steelers are going backwards, the Browns have there number.
the Steelers will be at the bottom of the AFC North. Tomlin will have to start winning with his players, can’t keep Bills players for ever.
the Browns should be ranked around the 20th spot. Its funny Delhomme had 1 bad year and all ready hes a bust, because he went to Cleveland. If he would of went to the Raiders,he would of been getting back to he Superbowl form.
Wait until you see football teams play in the first week to give out power rankings, the preseason means nothing. Lions went 4-0 in preseason then went 0-16.
With the ranking you put up you will look dumb after some of these teams win and the top teams fail. can’t wait. Browns at least 7-9 this year, and will be in most there games this year.

In reply to:
if yer not first… says:
September 7, 2010 10:12 AM
Pittsburgh Steelers: If safety Troy Polamalu can stay healthy, the Steelers can climb to the very top of this ladder.
11. Cincinnati Bengals: The recent hype from the arrival of T.O. has obscured the reality that this team faded badly down the stretch last year.
r u effing kidding me? I’m really tired of this shit. Pittsburgh did nothing to improve their team and are missing their Superbowl QB 1/4 of the season.
Yes the Bengals faded down the stretch – but for Christ’s sake Sh ttsburgh faded the WHOLE EFFING YEAR.
————————————————-
If you and the rest of your sad Bengirls contingency could ever learn to focus on your team, your storied history (oh yeah, that would be a losing history) and your inability to deliver year in and year out ….
Get over yourself and your Steeler loving / hating BS.
Your team better bring it this year and end up being at least 12-4 this year after all the hype. Let’s see how Carson holds up. My guess is that teams are going to line up and try to take him out since the Bengirls no longer have a suitable back up. He better throw quickly or just hand off to Benson 30-35 times per game to ensure the Bengirls achieve what all of you Steeler envy jackasses want.
BTW – it’s never too early to break out the 6-pack, yes I’m talking Lombardi’s. Crawl back into your hole and focus on your team. When you do, come back out and focus on your team and the merits of what you have. Stop being a crybaby loser who has to continue to compare every aspect of football to the Steelers. It truly is the best form of flattery, but for you and the rest of your fan base, get over it and stick to your team.
That would be a welcome change … a Bengals fan actually focusing on his/her team.

i think you totally undersold 49ers and Raiders. also, what has Vince Young been doing up until now? he got benched unfairly and was allowed to take over for a clearly running-on-empty Kerry Collins way too late last year. and he absolutely balled after he got back into the lineup. that team goes nowhere because they have limited skill players and a thin D; not because VY isn’t the Man in Nashville. hater

rated the pack to low and the boys to high. the boys had a shaky preseason, unlike the pack and the pack beat them last year. its like you only think of last years o line for the pack from the begininng of the season. they fininshed strong. history will work against the boys. every year they are supposed to be good but not this year. not when aaron rodgers will win the mvp, JUST WATCH.

as a Steelers fan I am non the less shocked to see my team ranked above the bengals. I certainly doubt the rest of the AFC is underestimating them. I hate them, but you can’t ignore the fact they swept the AFC North last year. The AFC North is going to be the most exciting division in football this year

Can’t wait for the end of the season to see how you did. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I read the disclaimer stating your rankings are for the here and now, but that is just a cop-out since rankings at 0-0 by its very nature is a prediction of the season’s outcome. After all, if you think one team is going to end up ahead of another in the standing, you certainly wouldn’t rank them in reverse order in your power rankings now would you? No, you wouldn’t. So, we’ll see how you did at year’s end!

Florio. For serious? This is further proof that even the guys who pay attention to the NFL don’t pay any attention to the Bucs since Raheem Morris took over. You are as wrong as one could be on the Bucs. You and Peter King, Ron Jaworski, Mike & Mike, and so on and so forth.
Ignoring a team doesn’t make them bad. It makes you bad.

When they beat a top caliber team …….
Yeah, call everyone else when the Packers can beat good teams consistently….2-5 against over.500 teams last year. Cards didn’t even try in week 17.
The defense gave up 51!points in that WC game and the “revamped” O line gave up 5 sacks.
Yep, they improved all right.
Why are you cheese turds so ignorant? I’m seriously wanting to know that.

Kaz says:
September 7, 2010 11:17 AM
Steelers “6 pack”. 4 won by steriods, 2 won by officials admitted mistakes…
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Let it go already Kaz. It doesnt do you any good to be so negative. Rise up and be positive for once.
Like this —- I am so excited the NFL starts in two days!! My team has a chance to win the Super Bowl!!
That is unless your a fan of the Bucs, Bills, Panthers, Skins, Cardinals, Lions, Texans, Chiefs, Falcons, Browns, Bears, Titans, Broncos and all teams in the Pacific time zone – then you have no chance to win this season.

Shock and dismay to see my Steelers at #10. We’re best when underestimated.
Some fans are making too much of Ravens’ secondary. They make up for corner weakness w/good safeties–even w/out Reed.
Browns were improving last season and Jake was a good get. They should at least finish ahead of Seattle. No one in the division should take a Browns win for granted.
Bengals will be back in contention, but won’t sweep the division.
Otherwise, my poetic justice pick of the year is for Washington to finish ahead of Philly.

This thread appeared to relaese every homer from every city, reality check to the btm 7 teams in the power ranking. They are there for a reason, you can take those 7 teams and move them in any order, but they are still a btm team.
It sucks, I know, I happen to be a fan of one of those teams. Stop crying about where some internet tool placed your team, let the season play out for a bit then you can bitch to Mike about where he placed your team. If your team happens to light it up then good for you and the rest of the fan base, you can send hate mail to Mike, I’m sure he’ll read it…. : /

The Packers are at #7 for what reason? I believe they are more of a Superbowl contender than the Cowboys, Vikings, and are better than the Ravens. They should be at #3.
The San Diego Chargers have lost many people and who have they gained? Ryan Matthews? As good as he looks this isn’t the regular season yet and Ryan still needs to prove himself and without Vincent Jackson their passing game could go down as far as bottom 10 in the league. They should not be a top 10 team.
Other teams like the Jaguars and the Broncos and the Eagles should be down lower on the chart. The Eagles have lost so many people and are starting Kolb? Their passing game is not going to be as good and their rushing game will be a lot worse without Brian Westbrook.
The 49ers do not deserve to be were they are. Not only are they starting to put together their passing game with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, but they have one of the best running backs in the game in Frank Gore. With Patrick Willis leading their tough defense, I think the 49ers are a top 12 team with playoffs written all over them.
Low in the list, I do not like where the Oakland Raiders are placed. The Oakland Raiders have gotten a better Quarterback and this year their Offensive Line is healthy this year. Their Wideouts are looking better and with Mcfadden and Bush both being in their 3rd year, one of them are likely to have a break out year. I also think their defense is much better with their rookies in tack and in a few years I see the Raiders moving up in this list.
Another selection that I do not like what so ever is the Detroit Lions. I think the Lions could be a decent team this year and start pushing forward for the playoffs. They won’t make the playoffs the next three years but they will start to contend for a wild card spot with their young players. New additions of Ndamukong Suh and Jahvid Best just add to their team in a positive way. This list needs to be reevaluated quickly.

@Kaz …
Kravon is right. That silliness doesn’t hurt us because we know better … so what good does it do you? Steroid use was common from the late 60s until the 80s when PEDs were banned and testing began. Since they were available to all and a few players on every team took them, it was an even playing field. The ref nonsense is just whiny sour grapes. Dallas scored a TD off a bad call in SBXXX but life would be miserable if we spent all our time on how we’ve been wronged. It’s football season. Be happy.

MrHumble says:
It’s a preseason ranking you idiot……..I would rank the same at this time of season based on what happened last year. The Packers have a good young team but the Vikings did spank them good, TWICE last year, went to the NFC Championship game, basically have the same team back and just becuz the Packers changed personnel on OLine doesn’t prove anything yet. Also, the Packs DB’s were their achilles heel and they had zero pass rush….what have they did to improve that since last year???? Until the season unfolds, I understand the viking/packer ranking….and so should you if you knew anything about football!!
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Mr Humble, maybe you should study the game a little more. The Vikings are ranked WAY too high based upon last year. They do not have Rice, Taylor or Griffin to start the year, so yeah, as a Packer fan I’m pissed that Florio ranks them above the Pack. Based upon what? A terrible offseason? Because they beat the Pack twice last year? That was last year, idiot! Things have changed and you’ll eventually see that after the Saints spank them, AGAIN! Oh wait. Cue the whiny little queenie fans. Chepa shot! Terrible Refs! The NFL wanted the Saints ti win. Do you people listen to yourselves?

its like you only think of last years o line for the pack from the begininng of the season. they fininshed strong
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Giving up 5 sacks and allowing GayRod to punt a ball away in the WC game is finishing strong?
I almost pissed my pants, I’m laughing so hard.
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Supersuckers says:
September 7, 2010 1:49 PM
“Yep, they improved all right”
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Well said. Tons of offseason work made this years Green Bay Packers a monster
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Super, obviously you don’t know sarcasm when you see it.
Your posting as of late leaves a lot to be desired.
It’s boring and lazy.
You are better than that.
What’s sad is you were pretty funny on here at one time. What’s the matter pumpkin? Finally figuring out your team isn’t as good as you thought it was and now you are hedging your bets so you can backtrack without looking too foolish?

For the most part I agree with these rankings but for one thing.
You’re holding on to 2009 Florio. You do realize that normally only half the 12 previous playoff teams make the playoffs the following year and that includes the champ or runner-up. The league is just to unpredictable. You say this is based on current play but did you see the Pack dismantle the Colts or how poorly the Steelers have played? I’m not buying that and I know you’re not either.
A more accurate top 10 would be this:
1. Green Bay Packers
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Dallas Cowboys
4. Minnesota Vikings
5. Indianapolis Colts
6. New England Patriots
7. San Diego Chargers
8. Houston Texans
9. New Orleans Saints
10. Cincinnati Bengals

How can you honestly say that the Rams and Lions are not the 2 worst teams until they actually win some regular season games? Fortunes can change quickly, but you’re betting…. on the RAMS ……. and the freaking LIONS……. yikes

You tell Bengals fans to “stop hating” & “focus on his/her team”….look at your name – “bengirlsuk10”. Or maybe that’s a witty name giving props to your man-whore egomaniacal quarterback. If that’s the case then that is a pretty classy move to blame it on anyone other than big ben himself. In case you didn’t pick up on that, that was sarcasm.
That being said, steeler fans’ first comeback is to always bring up the superbowls, which I will admit is very impressive, or to call the Bengals losers. But, don’t down a franchise because it had a bad decade or a bad 15 years. For instance, did you know that your precious steelers had only 4 winning seasons in their first 25 years of existence? The “loser Bengals” however had 11 winning seasons in their first 25. Other than their bad run of the 90’s the Bengals have a pretty good history. Paul Brown was one of the best football minds ever.
The best part of your comment though is –
“Let’s see how Carson holds up. My guess is that teams are going to line up and try to take him out since the Bengirls no longer have a suitable back up.”
Spoken like a true dirty steelers fan.

These rankings must have been made based off one of those old vibrating table football games – but with the prognosticators on the field and not the actual teams. Some truly stupid comments in regard to why certain teams are ranked in certain places

IND is overrated here. They wont be backing into the SB this year so get ready to move them from #2. You could move them below CIN and BAL to start as those teams have the same talent on O and have 2 of the better D’s in the league.

49ers underrated — Smith has been in the league long enough to “get it” ,there is a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, and the coach looks like a real winner. Cowboys — are getting the standard preseason hype,but what have they done to improve the O-line,and Wade is still on the sideline if they manage to get into the playoffs.

Blackheld was very correct about the Lions, they should be in low-20s to late-teens by the end of the year.
As a Panthers fan (22nd on list), it’s scary to think that we could move anywhere from 15th to 32nd based purely on quarterback play. It all depends on how good Matt Moore does, and how quickly we switch if he doesn’t. Remember, we pound the rock, and we have the best 1-2 punch at Running Back in the league. Bar none.
Hopefully we trade for a new GM next year, keep Fox.

There Florio goes again proving his lack of football acumen… the Bucs are the worst team in the league? Are you high, Florio? A greatly improved defense and a motivated young QB with a great work ethic along with a full offseason with the same offensive coordinator, this team will be greatly improved.
My question to you Florio is, when the Bucs come out and don’t lose 10 games this season, will you admit how stupid you are and how little you know about football at the end of the season?
Anybody that picks the Bucs to suck are wearing their lack of football knowledge on their sleeves for all to see.

The packers have a suspect defense. No pass rush to speak of and a weak secondary. They have a soft 1st half schedule. If they develop any sort of pass rush (doubtful) then i would consider ranking them top 3.
This offense may need to score 35 a game to make up for the swiss cheese secondary. I cringe every time jared bush step on the field. Almost makes me long for hte days of tbuck.
Its early lets see what happens at showtime.

PACKER FANS ARE NUTS ! YOU GAVE UP 50 IN A PLAYOFF GAME AND YOU LOST TO THE VIKES 2 TIMES? AND THE EAGLES RUNNING GAME WILL BE WORST WITHOUT WESTBROOK? HE DIDNT REALLY PLAY LAST YEAR! PEOPLE STOP BITCHING!

The Cowboys do not have “a glaring weakness” at left tackle. Doug Free will be thieir best lineman this year. It is all the other line positions on offense that are suspect this year because of declining performance, age and injuries.

While I was gonna rant about you not showing the Niners and their Top 5 defense (pts allowed) and elite RB Gore any love… Especially when we killed “#18” Jax, I saw this comment and say this has to be the worst comment I’ve seen on ANY comment board:
“casper67 says:
September 7, 2010 8:18 PM
Florio – The Bills are not 31st in the league. Stop jumping on the Bills bashing band wagon. You’re such a fag and I hope you get AIDS…”

It helps when your QB is around for the offseason program. Improvement from within.
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You’d think that would work for you…improving within.
Yet here you are, day after day, the sam old super.
What a naive person you are.
Thats what teams say when they don’t go get the missing pieces needed.
I’m embarassed for you that you don’t know that.

Florio… The “suspect” o-line belongs to the Vikes!! The Packers straightened things out by mid season last year and have allowed only one sack this preseason to the second string QB, Matt Flynn. Apparently your too wrapped up in Favre stories to actually research your other posts.

Supersuckers says:
September 8, 2010 10:16 AM
“Thats what teams say when they don’t go get the missing pieces needed”
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They have them. They are on their roster. This isn’t fantasy football
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Evidently, it is to you. You are just like Ted, you don’t know your asshole from your elbow when it comes to building a football team.
The fantasy is that you think they win a SB in the next 2 years.
The orginization has you snowed.
You have an umpteen thousand waiting list for tickets, you are satisfied with slightly above average teams.
Where is the incentive for them to put an elite squad on the field?
The fans are going to show up , delusional as always, and think the team has a chance.
Why do you think they were horrible from 1970- 1992? They made money because you tools showed up and were satisfied with what they gave you.
God bless your loyalty, but when you accept the status quo, they aren’t going to change.
Use your common sense, man!